In 2020 the EuroDov Tour announced the introduction of a new offer for the membership in the guise of the Order of Merit. At that point an announcement from the Tour declared, “the EuroDov Tour has created a strong platform in the RyDov Cup and EuroDov Cup but the addition of a season long singles strokeplay offering would take the Tour to another level. 2021 will see the introduction of the Order of Merit and we look forward to crowning a Champion Golfer of the Year at the end of the season.”

The Order of Merit in 2021 had 7 players declare for the field and saw 5 winners emerge over 7 tournaments but only one player could walk away with the moniker of Champion Golfer of the Year, and we sit down with him today.

David McColgan, Champion Golfer of the Year, how does that sound? “I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet to be honest. I think firstly it’s a huge honour to be the EuroDov Tour’s Champion Golfer of the Year but also to have prevailed in a very strong field, a field of players that played great golf throughout the year and embraced the Tour’s newest format.”

Let’s focus on the format for a second, why did you sign up to play the first Order of Merit? “I think it was a no brainer, it’s a cracking format. Regular competition golf, in a strong field and good company. It’s been great to get on the course with the guys more regularly and I think that atmosphere has driven everyone’s golf game to another level.”

What do you have to say to the field after today’s outcome? “I think firstly thanks for playing, the field has made the competition, it’s been played in good spirits and the level of competition have just risen each tournament. It’s been great to see everyone make strides.”

We’re going to take you back to the beginning, March 20th and the St Andrews Open. You won that tournament with a 1 over par round what’s your reflections now? “It was unbelievable to get that first win so early. It was a real weight off my shoulders. If I look at Denis Duncan and his four nearly-wins, it takes it out of you, and you begin to wonder if you’ll ever do it.”

“On the day it felt like I snatch the win given Duncan’s lead coming down 17, but in hindsight golf and tournament golf especially doesn’t award a win until the ball is in the hole on the 18th green. At the end of the day, I played the best over all 18 holes and that’s what the history books will say.”

Reflecting on Duncan’s 17th hole troubles, and his subsequent collapses at Burntisland, Mearns Castle, Kinghorn and the Tour Championships, is there in room for compassion? “Of course, there is, there’s nothing worse than seeing a player put a great round together only for the wheels to fall off. I think it was even worse because it happened so often to Denis.”

“However, you can look at Denis and say he consistently failed to finish out tournaments or he consistently put himself in a position to win. I like to look at it as the latter and I am sure he’ll build on this year and push for better next year. Tell me this, would you bet against a guy with five second place finishes and a win? I certainly wouldn’t.”

After you won the St Andrews Open you struggled to a T5th finish on your home course at Burntisland and two 3rd place finishes at Mearns Castle and Canmore, what was going through your mind at that point? “I am not going to lie, walking on to the first tee at Kinghorn in July I was feeling the pressure.

Burntisland was supposed to be a walk in the park but when I slumped to 5th and 11 strokes off the winner it was a wake-up call. Mearns Castle was definitely a low point for me. I am probably the most experienced competition golfer in the field and I all but gave up after a terrible 16th hole, a decision that probably cost me shots.”

Let’s look at those three tournaments for a minute, what’s your wider reflection on them? “Well for them to deliver three different winners was simply amazing, it was great to watch from way down the leader board. I think it really brought the Order of Merit to life and showed everyone that this competition was wide open.”

“Stephen Green and Andy Love's victories were definitely the greatest moments of the Order of Merit for me. Green played great golf, in terrible conditions and with the pressure of it being on his home course, and genuinely couldn’t have been happier for him.

As for Love he had promised so much in the run up to the St Andrews Open and two disanointing showing to open the season must have been hard to take. To see him go away regroup and come back and win the King's Cup so emphatically was impressive.”

You’ve went on the record and said July was a catalyst for the rest of your season, talk us through that. “I think for many looking on my Order of Merit season had been a bit of a disappointment, and I shared their view. However, at the start of July I lifted my 6th EuroDov Tour major when I won the EuroDov Cup at Slaley Hall.

It was a big win, a big confidence boost, going wire-to-wire in a competitive field and it really spurred me on.”

You came into the Kinghorn Classic off the back of that and would go on to win by three strokes with a 1 under par round how did that feel? “I think by this time the OoM had had 4 different winners in 4 different tournaments and to be the first two-time winner was a big moment for me.

Kinghorn is a tough track and the temptation to launch the ball all over the place is sometimes too great, but I stuck to my game plan, and it delivered.”

As we headed into August you were 100 points in front in the Order of Merit then at the Forrester Open you withdrew after 9 holes, what was going on there? “My head wasn’t in it. I wasn’t playing poorly; I was level par thru 4 and then decided I didn’t want to be out there playing and was just really a rush back to the clubhouse.

I wasn’t enjoying my golf, and I am not the best person to be around when that’s happening, so I left the guys to it and what a tournament they delivered. Three players tied for the lead and only four strokes between first and last. I was delighted to see Denis get the win, no matter what others say about it being tainted.”

So, what’s the mind-set going into the Tour Championships 400 points adrift the leader? “It’s an interesting question really; is the pressure on me to catch-up or the pressure on the leader to stay in front.

The reality is with double points available in the Tour Championship and how competitive the field had become over the year, there was no guarantee that Denis was going to have a victory parade.”

Commentators have pointed to your Tour Championships performance and said you “played like a man possessed,” what’s your take on it? “I don’t think I was expecting to turn-up and card a 1 under par and 1 over par round for a level par 142 I’ll put it that way. However, on that day my game felt good, it felt easy and natural and that’s when I can go low.”

You played alongside Duncan in the afternoon, and many were predicting who’d crumble first, what’s your thoughts here? “I think the scorecard answers that, I started with a birdie and Den carded a double bogey.
But in all seriousness that afternoon round was tough. Den and I were toe to toe through till about the 13th hole. I had a great look at birdie that I missed then I dropped four shots in 2 holes, and we were neck and neck. The 16th hole was the defining moment. Den was by the green in 5 and when I despatched a 2 iron 240 yards to the middle of the green, I knew I had the upper hand.”

You’re leaving 2021 with two new nicknames but, what do you say to Lord of the Links, dubbed by the team at From the Locker Room after your wins at St Andrews, Kinghorn and East Lothian? “I think it’s great, who wouldn’t. What’s funny is I have grown up playing golf on parkland courses all over Scotland and links golf is a treat to me. But I do believe it is the purest format of the game requiring good ball striking, distance control and imagination.

I find it fun and challenging and for one reason or another it gets the best out of me.”

Your up and down on 18 to save par was a formality for the gathering crowd, but how did it feel to know that the season was over, and you were the Champion Golfer of the Year? “It was relief more than anything. I think EuroDov Reporter had me as the favourite to win the Order of Merit, but the truth is it was looking very unlikely around June time.

After I had sent my 6 iron toward the green on the 18th the walk down the fairway was good. I couldn’t have imagined a better ending for the season and when play was completed it was great to retire to the bar and remember tales from the season gone by.”

What’s your reflections over the year, what stands out for you? “I think it’s the competition really, the real winner is the Tour. The format, the competition, the field, that’s what I remember, and I am just delighted to have played my part.”

What’s the aim for 2022, will you play the Order of Merit again, and should we be backing you to win it all again? “Well, I have the small business of playing my part in helping Team Baxter win the RyDov Cup, so 2021 isn’t finished yet.

But I’ll be back in 2022 to play in the Order of Merit, as for winning it all again I am not too sure. The monkey is off my back so I don’t think there is any pressure there, but I know the guys will be putting in the work over the winter and my challenge is to come back sharp and ready to go.”

McColgan delivered two regular season wins, the St Andrews Open and the Kinghorn Classic, his absolute dominance at the Tour Championships secured him a third win and the moniker Lord of the Links. In a season that saw some personal lows, McColgan’s positivity for the competition and the field is undeniable. He’ll be back in 2022 and so will we but for now we leave you with your Champion Golfer of the Year, David McColgan.